Education for all is deemed one of the top priorities of the Bangladesh Government. A robust, efficient, and modern educational infrastructure is necessary to ensure high literacy rates and good quality of education, but there are communities spread across remote areas of Bangladesh that are struggling to ensure education for their children amid the pandemic.

In an effort to digitise and modernise the education infrastructure, the Government has already set up multimedia classrooms in over fifty thousand schools around the country. But a large number of schools in the Chittagong Hill Tracts remain out of coverage due to scarcity of energy. 

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 's 'Strengthening Inclusive Development in Chittagong Hill Tracts (SID-CHT)' project has partnered with Khagrachari Hill Districts Council (KHDC) to deliver off-grid solar energy-driven digital content playback multimedia classroom (MMC) solution for 100 schools. A hundred units were delivered with technical assistance from UNDP's Innovation Lab of the a2i programme.

Of the 100 schools that received these multimedia classroom solution sets, 44 are primary schools while 56 are secondary. The technology-based learning equipment provided to these schools will allow students to access standard quality education even without being connected to a power grid. The 100 schools are spread across nine Upazilas, and they are now equipped with smart TV, solar panels, internet, digital textbooks etc.

Member of Parliament (MP) and Chairman of the Taskforce on Rehabilitation of India-returnee Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, Kujendralal Tripura, formally inaugurated the Multimedia Classroom Solution distribution programme on May 13, 2021, at the Conference Room of Khagrachari Hill District Council (KHDC).

"The current Government has come with the mandate to make the whole country digital, and it's not a daydream now. It's a reality.  Multimedia classroom facility in remote schools in Khagrachari is closely linked with the digital mandate of Bangladesh Government," said Kujendralal Tripura.

"Still, many schools in the hill tracts are getting left behind. This initiative will allow these schools to progress and reach the same standard of education as schools in urban areas," said the MP. 

At the distribution programme, Mongsweprue Chowdhury, Chairman of KHDC; Bashirul Haque Bhuiya, Chief Executive Officer of KHDC; Shane Alam, Chairman of Khagrachhari Sadar Upazila, and Nirmalendu Chowdhury, Mayor of Khagrachari Municipality, were also present as special guests. 

The Multimedia Classroom Solution Set has been distributed under the "Women and Girls' Empowerment through Education and Skills" component of SID-CHT project of UNDP. This project is implemented jointly by UNDP and the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MoCHTA) with financial support from the Global Affairs Canada and other donor agencies.